Although Australia is a voluntary signatory of a number of international treaties and conventions that govern the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, many of these conventions have been contravened by the government.
Australia has signed the following:
1. The Refugee Convention:
2. The  1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
3. The 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT),
4. The 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
5. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).